I think one who loves Tennis will love Maria Sharapova and one who loves Maria will love Tennis too. Anyway I am her fan. In my childhood my strong feeling was that no sports person, especially women , shall be charming or beautiful. I thought they will be strong and will look rough and tough due to vigorous practice and all. But Maria just rolled out all my calculations. Yes! she deserves the name Tennis Princess !!
Mini Bibligraphy
Maria was born in 19th April 1987 at Nyagan , now in Russia. Her birth name was Maria Yuryevna Sharapova. Maria started hitting tennis balls at the age of four. At the age of six, Maria Sharapova participated in a exhibition in Moscow that featured Martina Navratilova. So, at the age of nine, she began training at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy located in Bradenton, Florida, USA.
Therefore, during those two years, she was separated from her mother for two year due to visa restrictions and finances. Maria occasionally travels with her father and works with tennis coach managers Michael Baroch and Robert Lansdorp. During her leisure time off court, Maria’s interest includes modeling in fashion, singing, jazz dancing and movies (Pearl Harbor (2001)). Maria enjoys reading books of her interest in the “Sherlock Holmes” and “Pippi Longstocking” collection series. Basically, Maria’s favorite dessert is ‘anything’. Maria favors Russian music and food.
Maria Yuryevna Sharápova is the former World No. 1 Tennis plater. As of April 21, 2008, she is the third-ranked female player in the world and the top ranked Russian female player. At the end of 2006, she was the world’s highest-paid female athlete.
Sharapova has won three Grand Slam singles titles. In 2004, she beat Serena Williams to take the Wimbledon title at the age of 17. Two years later, she defeated Justine Henin in the final of the 2006 U.S. Open. At the 2008 Australian Open, she beat Ana Ivanovi? in the final. Sharapova has been ranked in the top 10 since winning Wimbledon, the longest of any current female tennis player.
Notable matches
2004 Wimbledon final: defeated heavily-favored two-time defending champion Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 to become the third youngest woman to win the title at the All England Club and the lowest seed (at the time) to do so.
2004 WTA Tour Championships final: defeated Serena Williams 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Sharapova came back from a 4-0 deficit in the third set and won her first WTA Championships trophy.
2005 Australian Open semifinal: defeated by eventual champion Serena Williams 2-6, 7-5, 8-6. Sharapova led 6-2, 5-4 before Williams rallied to win the second set. In the third set, Sharapova again carved out a lead and even held three match points, but Williams battled back once again to win the match.
2005 U.S. Open semifinal: defeated by eventual champion Kim Clijsters 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3. Sharapova was down 5-2 in the second set and one game away from defeat but fought back to claim the set. Sharapova wound up saving five match points; however, Clijsters won the match on her sixth match point.
2006 Miami semifinal: defeated Tatiana Golovin 6-3, 6-7(5), 4-3 retired. Sharapova had match points at 6-3, 5-1 but could not convert. The third set was close until Golovin was forced to retire after dramatically twisting her ankle. Some criticized Sharapova for turning her back on Golovin, but a television replay showed Sharapova turning her back before the fall. Sharapova later explained that she thought Golovin had simply cramped. When the Frenchwoman retired and was leaving the court, Sharapova gave her a round of applause along with the crowd to show her appreciation.
2006 San Diego final: defeated Clijsters 7-5, 7-5. This was Sharapova’s first victory over the Belgian and her first title in San Diego. After this match, Sharapova lost just two more matches during 2006 and claimed three additional titles, including the U.S. Open.
2006 U.S. Open semifinal: defeated Amélie Mauresmo, the World No. 1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-0. This was the first U.S. Open semifinal with two 6-0 sets.
2006 U.S. Open final: defeated Justine Henin 6-4, 6-4 to win her second Grand Slam title. Sharapova beat Henin for only the second time in her career. This was only the eighth time in history that a player beat the world’s top two ranked players in a Grand Slam event.
2007 French Open fourth round: defeated Patty Schnyder 3-6, 6-4, 9-7. Sharapova came into the tournament with an injury and overcame two match points against her during this match.
2007 WTA Tour Championships final: defeated by Henin 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. World No. 1 Henin was the pre-match favorite, but Sharapova took the first set on her eighth set point and at one stage in the second set, was a mere five points from victory. The match lasted 3 hours, 24 minutes, making it the 12th longest women’s match in the open era. It was widely agreed as the best women’s match of 2007,[citation needed] with some citing it as an all-time classic.
2008 Australian Open quarterfinal: defeated Henin 6-4, 6-0. Henin was the World No. 1, but Sharapova won her third victory in nine meetings with Henin. The win snapped Henin’s 32-match winning streak and marked the first time Henin had suffered a “bagel” set since 2002. It also marked the first time since 2005 that Henin had lost in a Grand Slam tournament before the semifinals.
2008 Australian Open Final: defeated Ana Ivanovic to claim her third Grand Slam singles title. This was the first time she was favored in a Grand Slam final, but she still was able to win. This gave her a 3-1 Win/Loss record in Slam Finals and now only Roland Garros stands in her way of completing a career Grand Slam.
Latest News on Maria
Sharapova heading to Beijing Olympics
Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova will represent Russia in the women’s singles at the Beijing Olympics, the country’s federation chief Shamil Tarpishchev said Monday.
“We can send four single players and two doubles to Beijing,” Tarpishchev told the press. “Sharapova and Kuznetsova will definitely play in the women’s tournament, while the other girls will fight it out for the two remaining places.”
Three times Grand Slam tournament winner Sharapova is set to become one of the biggest names competing in Beijing and is certain to attract huge media attention.
Maria Shapova’s 21st Birthday
The fashion and entertainment elite came out to celebrate Maria Sharapova’s 21st birthday last night at a party hosted by luxury watch brand TAG Heuer.
The invitation-only event for the three-time Grand Slam winner drew several celebrities including Michelle Trachtenberg and Dave Annable. Vogue’s Anna Wintour also made an appearance at the party, along with designers Vera Wang, Doo.Ri and Brian Wolk and Claude Morais of Ruffian.
TAG Heuer President and CEO Ulrich Wohn welcomed Sharapova’s friends and family and toasted the 21 year-old before presenting her with an elegant white and pink eight-tier cake
Sharapova advances in women’s rankings
Maria gained 110 points in Charleston and has a total of 3986 points and is closing the gap on #2 as she is only 171 points behind Ana Ivanovic. This is Maria’s highest ranking of the year.
